Liverpool Rumours Archive December 15 2012

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15 Dec 2012 23:26:00
ed002

i know ppl have asked this but it seems to be every morning i wake up theres more and more talk of sterling been chased by man u and arsenal...i know you and Macca have stated ul think he will sign a new contract but do you know if its just the papers making stuff up becuase he hasnt signed a contract or is there genuine interest from either of them

thankyou

bigW {Ed002's Note - It is nothing more than speculation. If he fails to agree a contract they might be interested.}

Sterling has probably been advised by his agent to wait until Jan window to weigh up his options, why else would he delay?

Dammmm you read too much into this my friend.

FowlerGod.

P.s

Have you seen the news reporting Liverpool for near enough every striker going? that is because we are out for one, utd want a winger and Arsenal need anything going. Papers put 1 and 1 together and make the headlines.
Please think about it before posting tripe.

FowlerGod.

There is no smoke without fire.

FACT: Sterling has not sign a new contract.

Eds, a hypothetical question. Let's say Sterling (and he will be booed every time he comes to Anfield) won't sign a new contract, how much shall we sell him for? {Ed002's Note - I have given my opinion on Sterling already. It seems it is best not to give any information about contracts or finances to fans if this is what you come up with. Have you considered encouraging him to sign might be better than telling him the Liverpool fans will "boo" him might not be more supportive of the player?}

Fowlergod

how am i posting tripe you person i asked a simple question! i didnt post anything saying he wont sign or tht i know something i dont so keep your personic posts to your self you little crettin!

bigW

15 Dec 2012 23:24:18
Macca / Eds..

How sure are you that Sterling will sign?

We kept hearing that he would sign once he had turned 18 and yet a week later and still no news.

My concern is if he really wanted to sign for the club then why hasn't he done so yet?

The club has supported and developed him over the last 3 years and surely if its all about every young footballer being at a club like Liverpool your dream would be to be playing for the first team and signing your first professional contract with them as soon as the opportunity became available?

Or alternatively he thinks he's bigger than the club now that he's a first team regular and won his first England cap the worlds his oyster?

Iv got a horrible feeling Sterling is going to do a Rooney and turn his back on the club that made him ASAP.

I hope I'm wrong I really do but he's either made up his mind to leave through bad advice by his agents or he's destined to leave, which would be a shame as he will be a world beater in the years to come.

Curled1 {Ed002's Note - I expect that he will sign a new contract.}

Mate! Calm down will you?!
The eds did not say he'd sign as soon as he turned 18. They said he'd probably sign at some point after that. We're in that time now, so give him time to do it! The lad has just turned 18, let him celebrate that, enjoy Christmas, and then sign in the new year. We really don't need scaremongerers like you getting a panic going.

He'd be mad to move to City or Utd yet as he wouldn't be guaranteed a start. At least at liverpool he would be a regular starter and could develop his career and then move to one of the big 4 clubs once he's an established player

Im pretty sure he already turn his back on qpr haha

15 Dec 2012 23:12:44
Have we looked at Adel Taarabt?

I have. Wierd lookin lad
FowlerisGod

He scored a brace yesterday. Doesn't make him good enough to play for Liverpool.

Motd fever?

We looked at him under Hodgson.

What has he done to help his team before yesterday ? We paid 35m for andy carroll on the back of a 6 month purple patch at Newcastle - surely you wouldn't be suggesting signing a player on the back of 2 goals (1 deflected) at home to Fulham who have the worse away record i can think off in recent PL history

He has just trouble written all over him

15 Dec 2012 20:29:32
Ed if we get Ince huntelaar must be fist choice do you agree think sturage would then depend on sales or wages being cut. We need goals bad {Ed002's Note - No, Sturridge is a very real target. As I have explained before, there is a lot of interest in Huntelaar and I very much doubt he will be moving to Liverpool.}

15 Dec 2012 20:22:42
Any thing from any clubs in Chris wondolowski scored 27 in 34. Also what are the chances of either Morgan,Yesil or adjoran getting a chance... And do you know o any confirmed interest for any of our players {Ed002's Note - I would doubt interest in Wondolowski who must be 30 now. I could see a potential cameo for the three but no more. There is interest in Joe Cole and Suarez. Downing returning to Middlesbrough is possible.}

I would give Morgan another year to adapt to get more of a shot and probably maybe the same for Yesil and adjoran. I do really rate all 3 but rushing them and (cos they are still really young) don'y stand up to some of people expectations they don't bag 10 goals in a game they get slated.
Its called progression in players. I like Morgan i really see him as a Fowler type of player and Yesil and Adjoran i really do see a huge future for them too, give them time and they will produce.

FowlerGod.

15 Dec 2012 19:39:15
Any clubs interested in philip hosiner of Austria wien... 24 years old and 17 goals this season {Ed002's Note - Philipp Hosiner looks certain to be heading to Ajax.}

Where no doubt he will become one of the top players in europe and be sold on for mega profit..

15 dec 2012 19:19:57
heard a rumour heskey is on his way back in january as the team he plays for are going bust. and rodgers sees him as an ideal partner for suarez till the end of the season.

The Newcastle Jets he plays for are subject to a winding up order from the Tax Office (The various companies owe about $3m in taxes), but its not due to go before the courts till the end of February next year, so its unlikely Heskey would be avialable anytime soon. And management have said they will be paying the bills. We had chances to sign Heskey in September, didnt sign him. Cant see it.

May as well , he can miss easy goals as good as the players we've got !!

You must be joking

Holly niz i can't believe the eds let this even come up on this site. I know it's saturday but this guy must have been drinking.

FowlerGod.

Hope so wot a player! Lol

Ha ha this should be in dodgy rumours

Totally unbelievable. Mate, you must be drunk.

How ridiculous

15 Dec 2012 19:16:52
Edd is there a chance of us poaching Getafes/Real Madrids pedro leon? shouldnt cost the earth and an excellent player? Likely? {Ed002's Note - No.}

15 Dec 2012 19:02:45
Is there any chance for us to buy Luc Castaignos or Bas Dost, as we definitely need another striker? {Ed002's Note - No. Both moved in the summer and will not be moving again in January.}

15 Dec 2012 18:44:59
Doing a great job on this website eds. I know we've been linked with Sturridge and ince and people are saying they are done deals, but what are the chances of them both happening? Because people said Dempsey was also a done deal in the summer and that turned out to be a disaster. Also what other players, if any, do you think will move to Liverpool in January? Cheers {Ed002's Note - It is tough to quantify the chances of both happening, but the links are good and Liverpool are certainly keen to push ahead and bring these players in. Done deal no. Dempsey was certainly expected to be completed in the summer and as we know it did not happen in the end. One of those things. As for January, we are aware that Liverpool were looking to take Jeffren on loan - so a possibility of a loan player perhaps.}

Sturridge is alone deal sadly mate {Ed002's Note - That is not what Liverpool has asked for.}

15 Dec 2012 17:07:07
Players coming in Jan:
Ince and Sturridge that's common knowledge at the moment.
Walcott is the final guy coming in
Then and only then, will others come in if we can offload Cole (West Ham most likely)
No news on a left back being sought after. Possibly meaning Downing will stay for cover

South African YNWA

Jan is wrong time to be spending big prob be just ince & sturridge.

No no. Not Ince and Sturridge

15 Dec 2012 14:04:16
Celtic have completed the signing of 18 year old wonder striker Arkadiusz Milik for a fee of £3million a host of top clubs were after him liverpool man u man city chelsea spurs real madrid but it is celtic who has signed him The Sun {Ed002's Note - I would expect him to be going to Bayer Leverkusen.}

I'm sorry. Did you just quote from the on a Liverpool website?

TSP

Who needs him when we've already got a wonder striker in the making going under the name of Yesil

FowlerGod.

Eds will you please stop any posts with quotes from that paper. I do not read it for a reason and I do not want to read any part of it. You will have people refusing to visit this site. I for one will never come on here again if I have to read any of that filth. {Ed002's Note - Well clearly the second poster was reading "that" paper as well. Whilst the name is deleted we have no idea where they are quoting from - and I suspect it was the Daily Mail in any case. Perhaps you should step back and check the details before telling us that people will be refusing to visit the site. Should you decide not to come here again, it is entirely your decision.}

I thought Everton were after him not us

15 Dec 2012 13:22:15
Have we had anything on Pierre emerick aubameyang look beast 2nd top scorer in ligue 1 behind ibra {Ed002's Note - After a year at St Etienne Aubameyang has attracted the attention of Manchester City, Manchester United, Zenit St Pete, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Spurs and PSG, probably amongst others. He has said in the past the one day his dream would be to return to play with a great Milan side.}

15 Dec 2012 12:20:44
Ed the young Brazilian Leo Baptistao seems to be doing ok in Spain, do you know if we have looked at him?
Also out of interest is Ever Banegra playing again now, shame we never bought him ages ago given Lucas's injuries, there again no luck himself.
Was at Camp Nou Thursday, there was no talk of anything to do with Liverpool in any of the Bars around town ( and I went in a few).
RNred

{Ed002's Note - There is no interest in Baptistao from Liverpool and it is unlikely he would get a work permit just yet. Banega is playing and likely to move. If, as expected, he leaves Valencia in January then Italy seems a likely destination with interest from Fiorentina. Inter Milan has had a long-term interest in the player but they will focus on players for other positions in January. Liverpool's interest at Barcelona was in Tello and he will be signing a new contract on Monday so it is not surprising there is not too much talk in the bar rooms.}

15 Dec 2012 12:15:53
So, the Sun are reporting that Arsenal and Man Utd are both trying to sign Sterling for 15m. Yeah i know, IT'S THE SUN. Got to love it though, and lets be honest, 15m ? I'd rip their arm off for it
I love the kid, but unless he hurrys up and signs his contract, i would get rid, you can do a lot with that sort of money
I think he will sign a contract though, as it's all about his development, and if he see's a bit of sense, he will see thatr things are improving hugely at Liverpool at the moment, and good times are fast approaching
Also, the Walcott and Sturridge debate...I don't think it too bad if the club bring in either, or both. With Borinii still out and Suarez on his own, either of those 2 would create and also score, there's no doubt about that
Also, the Reina debate...They say Arsenal will make a bid ? I'd let him go, he isn't the player he was 3 seasons ago, and although i like the guy, he is at times a liability. He's useless when it comes to set pieces, so for me, a decent bid and i'd let him go and go all out for Butland if they want to keep it English...Who else is there under the age of 25 that's any good ?

Anyway, great site and a good daily read as always...Have a great Christmas Eds, Macca and fellow Reds

ReDDaZ

Probably shouldnt be refrencing that paper (wont even call it a NEWS paper) on a liverpool site......unless youre on the wind up!

I'd take a front three of Walcott, Sturridge and Suarez, with Sterling, Borini, even Cole as back up! As for Sterling and Reina being shipped out, no way. Reina is on his way back and Sterling is a long way from his best yet and that's frightening. I know we have others coming through, Ibe even, but Sterling is the future and need to keep him. Arsenal sold RVP to their rivals and look what happened there! Why should we?

Keith

Yeah its codswallop, dont read anything containing the ***. p.s. when looking at keepers they dont have to be under 25, id rather go for paddy kenny then butland or better still keep reina

Reina is looking like he did 2 years ago. he is getting his confidence back. i woulod.t swap him for any other keeper in the premier league. Whats your take on reina eds?

Why would the club sell a fantastic prospect for only £15 million? If Sterling wants to protect his health and future he should stay where he has been guided by BR and PSegura.aklfc

All boils down to one thing ... do not mention that evil rag on these pages.

I would rather keep Reina as he appears to be coming back close to his best form. However, like every other player, I suppose that the club would look at any offer that matches their valuation of the player. That's just the nature of the business and football market.

If that were to happen though, I think that Marc-André Ter Stegen would be a better alternative to Jack Butland at this current time.

There are a number of quality keepers in Germany that could be available for a reasonable price.

I would expect BR then to guy and get a player like Joe Allen for 15m.... whats the point

Take the money and run !! Nearly19

15 Dec 2012 08:45:30
I am assuming that this talk of Utd and Arsenal battling it out for Sterling for 15m is just agent/paper talk? Or is Ince being brought in to replace him? Is anyone or the Eds ITK about what is going on?

Nick {Ed002's Note - See previous answers please.}

15 Dec 2012 11:02:45
How much do you know about Sofiane Feghouli? Spanish papers say we are making a move for him.

but I've never heard of him just thought if you had any information?

Dom lovelock {Ed002's Note - See an earlier answer.}

15 Dec 2012 09:21:31
Hi ed in the bbc they say Arsenal are confident of getting pepe if Liverpool sign butland from Birmingham is this on the cards or paper talk {Ed002's Note - I don't know of any approach by Arsenal to Liverpool and I would consider Buckland a high-risk move if Liverpool were to look to him as a first choice goalkeeper at this time.}

Butland would be great. Reina second choice

The BBC do not say that. It simply reports that a poor newspaper has written it. HUGE difference

Yes and read the text i asked was this paper talk !!!

15 Dec 2012 09:52:07
Liverpool signings in January window will be Tom Ince, Daniel Sturridge and Fernando Llorente (although he will likely just sign pre contract rather than move as Bilbao are digging their heels in). This will give attacking strength which is missing now. There may also be one or two young players brought in for the future. FSG have no interest in Demba Ba due to potential injury concerns and Walcott will go to Chelsea.

Going out will be Downing, Pacheco and Joe Cole. Offers will be there for Henderson but he will not be sold. And, Raheem Sterling will sign a 4 year deal before 1 Jan with incentives linked to appearances and England duty.

All this from reliable source inside Melwood.

PW

The signings sound good, but im a big big fan of Dani Pacheco and firmly believe that he should be playing, he can play anywhere in a front 3 and if he is playing with better players than he will only get better, he is too good to be playing u21 football he should be on the 1st team bench and given the chance.

BigD

I was on yesterday and saw llorente was 8-1,in the afternoon 11-8 and last night 10-11 on,I know people hear things and betting odds change if lots of bet put on,but surely there's some mileage with this story,would solve striker issue perfectly,and as they say no smoke without fire.

Yeah that makes sense!! Bilbao are digging in there heels on a player who's contract is running out and won't sign a new one resulting in them not playing him at all rather then selling him in January and getting money for him!

Thats aload of rubbish, i cant remember ba getting injured in prem

Henderson won't be sold neither will Downing considering the amount of games he has played recently

Do you guys forget that 2 years ago we were 1/5 on to sign Ribery from B.Munich but it never came to nothing....

BigD

Juventus is also chasing after Llorente's signature.

Llorente wants to sign I don't hear much out of lfc but Spanish players are convinced he wants to join may be pre contract if price is more than 10
Million g

15 Dec 2012 09:28:27
Sturridge is a done deal.

Ince is 50/50, other clubs are interested aswell.

Huntelaar is very much a possibility but not too sure on the chances of it happening.

Feghouli is also a target, Ayre has met with Valencia and Feghouli's agent to discuss a move. Rodgers is a big fan and sees him as similar to Dempsey who he failed to sign in the summer.

The same as dempsey. oh i cant wait.

gee man

Sturridge wants mega bucks to sign, go for Hooper of Celtic, he just loves scoring goals

15 Dec 2012 08:44:56
Any chance of us signing andy weiman... Young good player

I rate Weiman as well.I see a lot of Villa games and I am worried what he might do against Downing this afternoon.
CR

You were right to be worried. Scored a good goal but Benteke (£7m) ripped us a new one today. What a prospect he is and only 21 years old.

After today we definetly need a striker and he was on the score sheet... Not been prolific with 2 goals in 10 but always seems like a handful

15 Dec 2012 07:50:11
{Ed002's Note - From reading a number of recent messages it seems that this would be an appropriate time to reprise the FFFR post:

The Demystification of the Financial Fair Play Rules (FFPR)
Introduction
I will try and simplify and summarise the FFPR and give examples where I can.
Putting aside all of the “mother country” fluff, the fundamental purpose of the FFPR is to:
(1) Ensure that clubs are operating within their means with transparent financial reporting. Example: Arsenal has debt which they can manage from the money they make as a club (good). Anzhi has a very low turnover given the amount of money they spend on players through donations from wealthy owners (bad).
(2) Protect creditors. Example: When Portsmouth went bust they owed money for players (the extreme case being Glen Johnson who had moved to Liverpool but Portsmouth still owed Chelsea for), money to local businesses (tradesmen who had worked at the ground, newsagents etc.), utility companies, the police et al (bad).
(3) Encourage responsible spending. Example: Liverpool under Hicks and Gillett borrowed money against the value of the club in order to buy players (bad).
(4) Protect the long-term viability of European club football. Example: They want to avoid the scenario of clubs entering administration or going out of business.
The FFPR apply to all UEFA club competitions and will actively come in to force from the end of June 2014 taking account of the financial monitoring period (the season just finished) and the two prior reporting periods (the two seasons before that). So when they first start, the FFPR will look at the 2013/2014 returns, and they will give consideration to the 2011/12 and 2012/13 figures.
I should make clear that it is not the full accounts of a club that are being considered, but just the “relevant” income and the “relevant” expenses. “Excluded” expenses are critical to the FFPR calculations. To this end, all clubs will need to effectively produce two sets of accounts. An audited set which are provided to Companies House and the relevant revenue organisations, and a second audited return laying out the “relevant” income and the “relevant” expenses for the purpose of the FFPR.
Relevant Income
(1) Match day gate receipts. Example: The money made by the club from paying fans attending games. This includes income from cup games when played away from home – where a proportion of the gate money goes to the away side.
(2) Broadcasting rights. Example: Television income for games, money provided for radio broadcasting.
(3) Income from commercial activities. Example: Sales of bobble hats and rattles, club shop income, licensed income (e.g. DVD sales). In the future you can expect to see income from other media (e.g. streaming of games on a pay-per-view basis to the web and phones) increase.
(4) Prize money. Example: income from the Premier League, Champions League etc..
(5) Sponsorship. Example: Shirt sponsors (Standard Chartered, Samsung etc.), shirt manufactures (Adidas, Warrior etc.).
(6) Advertising. Example: Companies who buy time on video screens during games or hoardings at the stadium.
(7) Other operating income. Example: Payments made to a club for playing friendly matches in the Far East.
(8) Income from transfers: Example: All income from the sale of a player regardless of payment being due to previous clubs, the player himself etc. as they are allowable expenses which will later be deducted.
(9) Excess proceeds on the sale of tangible fixed assets. Example: The money Arsenal from converting part of Highbury in to apartments and selling them.
(10) Other income: Example: Interest on investments.
Relevant Expenses
(1) The costs of running the business (confusingly referred to as “the cost of sales” by accountants etc.). Example: Wages, ground maintenance, lighting, telephones, IT equipment, travel costs, policing costs etc..
(2) Employee related benefits and associated costs. Example: Costs of providing insurance, dental care, medical, employer NI contribution, housing, loyalty bonuses etc..
(3) Other operating expenses. Example: Payments for advertising, legal fees, agent fees, accounting fees, payments to players in relation to transfers, payments to player’s previous clubs, etc..
(4) Amortisation or transfer costs. Example: The total amount of money paid to another club to transfer a player or, if a club decides to do so, the amortised cost for that year (where a club is spreading the cost of the transfer out over the length of his contract for accounting purposes).
(5) Finance costs. Example: Bank charges, interest on loans etc..
(6) Dividends. Example: The owners may take a dividend from the profits a club makes as income.
Excluded Expenses
(1) Depreciation of tangible fixed assets. Example: The loss, if any, in value of the stadium, cars, IT equipment etc..
(2) Costs associated with the intangible fixed assets (other than player registrations). Example: goodwill, franchises, trademarks, copyrights etc..
(3) Expenditure on youth development activities. Example: All youth development expenses (housing, schooling, travel, medical etc.) are excluded from the calculations.
(4) Community development activities. Example: Outreach programmes, donations to the local community and charities, provision of equipment etc..
(5) Tax expenses. Example: Monies paid to the Inland Revenue, VAT etc..
(6) Finance costs related to construction of tangible fixed assets. Example: The interest on the £300M loan to build a new stadium.
(7) Interest payments on old loans (pre June 1, 2011). Example: Any interest due on a loan taken out for whatever purpose before June 1, 2011 is excluded from the calculations.
(8) Certain expenses from non-football operations. Example: This does not really apply to British clubs, but in other European countries clubs are often “sporting clubs” and have basketball, football, hockey team etc. all under one business.
The Calculation
FFPR calculates from a club’s “relevant” income and the “relevant” expenses whether the club is running at a surplus (profit) or deficit (loss) within a Monitoring Period (e.g. 2013/14). From this the FFPR decides if a club has met the “break even” requirement or not. This is not met if the “relevant” expenses exceed the “relevant” income by more than 5M euros (an acceptable deviation).
If the club exceeds this acceptable deviation, the owners of a club may contribute toward correcting it to a maximum of 45M euro over a rolling three year period (30M euro from 2015/16 on). Example: If Club X made a loss of 50M euro in 2013/14 due to the purchase of players, the calculation will ignore the first 5M euro and assume an owner contribution of 45M euro and there would not be an issue. However, for the two years following, there would be no allowable owner contribution as the full allocation had been used. If Club Y made a loss of 30M euro in 2013/14 due to the purchase of players, the calculation will ignore the first 5M euro and assume an owner contribution of 25M euro and there would not be an issue. But in this case, for the two years following, there would still be 20M euro allowable as owner contribution to cover further losses.
The Punishment
The Threat: If a club has been determined to have violated the “break even” requirement for a season it may be excluded from the next season’s UEFA competitions.
Likely Situation: If a club can show it has been moving in the right direction and doing what it can to overcome financial issues, perhaps brought on by a recession (e.g. in Spain) then I would expect a strongly worded letter as a warning. Perhaps by then end of the 2016/2017 season, If a club has been determined to have violated the “break even” requirement for several seasons then it may be excluded from the next season’s UEFA competitions.
UEFA are willing to make some exceptions to the rule and have already said they will consider:
(1) The quantum and trend of the break even result. Example: Chelsea has spent a lot this summer rebuilding an aging squad, so even with considerable additional income from winning the Champions League it could violate the “break even” requirement. However, spending less next season will show the club moving in the right direction. Expect a strongly worded letter in a couple of years time.
(2) Debt situation. Example: A possible “get out” for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United should they have a bad season and need to violate the “break even” requirement. Consideration will be given to the existing debt and the ability of the clubs to service that debt. The trend of the debt reducing and an excuse of “one bad season” and “need to rebuild the team” would likely result in a slapped wrist.
(3) Fluctuating exchange rates. Example: All non eurozone countries need to report the FFPR figures in euros which could fluctuate due to the exchange rate, whereas a number of the UEFA figures are fixed amounts (e.g. the 5M euro acceptable deviation).
(4) Projected figures. Example: UEFA will allow clubs to show that they are moving in the right direction if they provide projected figures showing that the “break even” requirement will be met in the following season.
(5) Force majeure. Example: Any extraordinary events or situation arising that is beyond the club’s control will be taken in to account.
(6) Until then end of 2014/15 only - Ongoing reductions in wage costs. UEFA will be flexible over the “break even” requirement if a club can show that their wage bill has been reducing and with the exclusion of wages of players signed before June 1, 2010 they would have met the “break even” requirement. Example: An escape route for the likes of Chelsea prior to this season with Drogba, Anelka, Bosingwa, Kalou, Cech, Terry, Lampard etc. wages excluded from the calculations. A possible future escape route for the likes of Barcelona.
The Issues
There are a number of matters that UEFA still need to figure out and a number of concerns that certain clubs and certain national associations have. Off the top of my head:
(1) Loopholes: Whilst UEFA has done what it can to block any potential “loopholes” it is well aware that exclusion of wages for players signed before June 2010 is one it has introduced itself, and one that will be popular with the higher paying clubs as a short term escape route through to the summer of 2015. The matters of excessive sponsorship will be addressed via a cap to thwart the concerns over the likes of Manchester City abusing the rules. The cap has yet to be finalised but will require ratification.
(2) Soft Sponsorship: UEFA are concerned at the aggressive approach to obtaining sponsorship some clubs are taking. Questions are being asked about the ethics in clubs having airline travel partners, photocopier partners etc.. The Spanish clubs have raised this as a concern.
(3) National Sponsorship Variations: As we have seen tobacco sponsorship leave Formula 1 UEFA would like to see alcohol sponsorship out of football. We already have a situation where sponsorship by alcohol related businesses are forbidden in certain countries. Wealthy breweries are now focussing their sponsorship in other countries thereby creating a perceived imbalance in what income clubs are able to obtain in sponsorship. The French and Russian clubs have raised this as a concern.
(4) National Financial Distribution Variations: Concerns exist in countries where different models are used for distributing prize money, contributing to the grassroots game and distributing income from television and other media broadcasting. This led to an original request (rejected) from a number of clubs to restrict the FFPR to only the wealthiest of clubs, those with a turnover in excess of xM euros.
(5) National Taxation Variations: There is a considerable difference across UEFA nations in taxation, and this is seen to be reflected in the wages paid to players. The Spanish clubs have raised this as a concern.
(6) Third Party Ownership: Countries that allow third party ownership of players are seen to have a distinct advantage in being able to keep the costs of transfer fees low as they are only paying for a proportion of a player. The English clubs have raised this as a concern.
The Great Fear
Without going in to too much detail: (a) A number of clubs take the opportunity a once or twice a year to discuss various issues including changes in rules, television rights, the power of UEFA, exploitation issues for new technology streams, etc.. These discussions, the last of which were in late August, also always turn to the possibility and structure of a breakaway pan European league. Several are ex-G14 clubs, several are not, and some clubs decline involvement in such discussions. (b) The plan is that at some point a number of clubs would break away from their national leagues and UEFA. They accept that they would be banned from all existing club competition and the players would initially be banned from all FIFA competitions as well, but know that FIFA would be looking to negotiate in any case. It would be the end of UEFA in all probability and UEFA are very aware of this. It would also result in a restructuring of many of the national leagues. (c) The clubs would renegotiate their television rights, rights of distribution via other streams etc.. (d) It remains the greatest fear of UEFA and all major national authorities that one day this will happen.
}

Thanks for taking the time to post, much appreciated.
kidmillions

Thanks again Ed002! Btw are you a Nobel winning Economist who also won a Pulitzer for your work in the field of sarcasm and satire?

sama491

Unbelievable post , one point of order , you refer to the '' Inland Revenue '' which , of course , no longer exists and hasn't existed for many years .

Thanks for the insight Ed002, don't pay attention to Sama. But seriously do you have a back ground in football finance? I'm training to be an accountant myself and often wonder what a football clubs finances look like. Much appreciated {Ed002's Note - Thanks but my background is not a matter for discussion right now.}

Hi Ed002, Hope you don't mind but I wanted to ask, what constitutes "youth development activities" -Excluded Expenses SS(3) ? That is, when will the costs associated to a player be cut off from youth association, (e.g. by law anybody under 18 is a minor and therefore a 'youth') AND given the home players rule relating to under 21's are these players able to be written off against "youth development activities"? {Ed002's Note - The costs associated with the "youth development activities" are those costs associated with running of all teams under 18 only. It does not include those between 18 and 21.}

Brilliant explanation Ed, thankyou. May I ask whether you think it is likely there will be a break away and if so, when might that happen? Also, which English clubs do you think are in favour of a break away and are likely to be part of one (Liverpool?). thanks. Jarakeda {Ed002's Note - I do expect a breakaway within perhaps 10-15 years. The last meeting on August 29 had attendance from about a dozen clubs - which is about the norm. I really do not want to get in to discussing which clubs are interested in a split.}

Eds, why do we have to put up with people 'thumbs downing' this post...it is factual and not open to agree/disagree??

Just the typical financial babble.. Designed to distract attention from the truth. Greed unfortunately will always prevail, with fsg getting richer everyday

{Ed002's Note - So you think FSG are responsible for the Financial Fair Play Rules? You have just dragged another couple of points of the collective IQ of the Liverpool supporters.}

15 Dec 2012 05:01:53
Hi eds and fellow posters.
I'm curious as to why so many posters seem so concerned with the fee which may be paid for Sturridge. The people with the finances are FSG and if they wish to back the club by spending, what they deem a player to be worth (whether 10m, 15m, 20m. etc) then what's the issue? Value is simply determined by what someone is willing to pay.
Thanks,
Puzzled Red

Puzzled Red, I do understand your being puzzled coz you seem not to get it that everything is connected.

With ffp coming into play, club has to come up with money for transfers not fsg, so more money spent on single player(ala Andy caroll) means less remains for other targets, hence mediocre buys(ala assaidi?) as we all know availability of money guarantees better players

mudux

Carroll was club money from the Torres sale... I'm Sure if FSG put in 35m from Their own money on top of club funds 15m? to get us the 1 big world class signing we need will hardly be deemed against fair play rules.
When you've got City,Chelsea and PSG spending by the 100's millions! {Ed002's Note - I rather think you need to read up on how the FFP rules work. I will post the summary again in a few minutes.}

It's not an issue to us fans how much the club spend on players but it is all connected and no one wants to feel like Liverpool are once again being ripped off. The more we spend on a player the more chance the papers have of jumping on his and the management's back if he doesn't perform, his price could effct his performance but IMO i'd just like us to get a good deal and not have a repeat of any of the mistakes we've had over the past couple of years.

Ok so if I am willing to pay £50m for Grant Holt that means he's worth that? Give your head a wobble

How appropriate your name is 'Puzzled'!

Your premise would be fine if LFC had unlimited gobs of cash at their disposal...we don't. Not even the Mancs or Chelski...with all of their spending...have a bottomless pit (despite what it may seem like).

So, what we spend on any player is VITALLY important because, FFP rules aside, with limited resources, blowing a wad on poor choices (ummmmm...can you say Carroll, Downing, Adam, Henderson, Cole?) will leave that much less in the kitty to spend on other players we need...when we need them...like right now. We have been desperately in need of a striker but, a poor allocation of funds from previous regimes have left us unable to get the players we need.

Surely, that wasn't too difficult a concept to understand...was it??

The reason most fans care how money is spent is we dont want to waste money and end up stuck with crap players,have no chance of cl and end up with 1 regonised striker o thats already happened. but i for 1 do not blame brendan for this and believe he will bring us outa this league pos we r in just a few additions in the last third and we will fly up the league.Tommy Newry Red

Because we'll get stuck with the bill

Cos it's bad business. Simple.

15 Dec 2012 04:59:06
Hi eds and fellow posters.
I'm curious as to why so many posters seem so concerned with the fee which may be paid for Sturridge. The people with the finances are FSG and if they wish to back the club by spending, what they deem a player to be worth (whether £10m, £15m, £20m. etc) then what's the issue? Value is simply determined by what someone is willing to pay.
Thanks,
Puzzled Red

They might be thinking of who we could buy instead for the same price?
I'm still undecided on him

Red Viking

Value and worth are very different though. Again it's all subjective, but while Carrolls Value might have been 35m, do you think he was ever worht that? No. Sturridge's value is beign quoted in the press at around 15m, do you think he's worth that mich? No (probably not).

The reason everyone is moaning is because (IMO) ever since City bid 100m for Kaka and Ronaldo went for 80m, prices have increased exponentially and while it's not just us that's getting ripped off, we have been the biggest culprits of the last few years. Carroll, Henderson, Downing, Allen, Borini were all bought for much more than their worth, and it's hard to justify it when they don't perform.

Because if we pay over the odds for one player it limits the funds we have for signing others.We are not rich.
galls

And losing other potential buys by not having enough money because of overspending on one player (i.e Andy). Yeah seems logical...

15 Dec 2012 02:10:25
Hi eds, great work as usual, what do you know about luverpools interest in Valencia player foughili? Out of contract in 2014 and has been playing well lately- {Ed002's Note - Valencia's Sofiane Feghouli is stalling on signing a new contract whilst his agents scurry around looking for interest in the player as leverage or as an alternative to Valencia should he be sold. A number of high-profile clubs have been approached to see if they would be interested in the player but it would be nothing but speculation on my part to suggest interest of not. However, Paris Saint-Germain has made more than one approach for the player and Valencia has set a deadline of his departure for the ACON to resolve the matter.}

15 Dec 2012 02:53:24
Hi eds,
Will sterling sign a new contract?
Cheers
Regmi {Ed002's Note - I expect he will.}

Eds do u have any idea of Sterlings contract "demands", just a little concerned with rumours I'm hearing

PD6 {Ed002's Note - I don't see player's wages as a matter of discussion. There will simply be a stream of erroneous figures as more and more fans turn on the kid with accusations of being a "money grabber" etc..}

15 Dec 2012 02:36:40
So apparently sturridge and ince are done deals, Are we still linked with Bent or Ba?

Why don't people like this use the search function? It takes longer to type out a question than it does to search.

Iv never heard anything about sturridge benna done deal in fact from what Ed 002 all that has happened on that front is we have made an enquirey {Ed002's Note - There is no "done deal" for Sturridge as you say, but it is clear that at deal is there to be completed if Liverpool and the player want it.}

Surely we are not interested in Bent.He is 29 and frequently injured.
CR

15 Dec 2012 02:12:50
If we do sign ince, would that rule out a move for will Hughes of derby? Looks quality,

I would say as they are completely different players and Hughes is a long way off first team that it doesn't depend on Ince.

Hughes is a Central Midfielder in the mould of Steven Gerrard as he is "all action". Infact i may even go on to say that he can replace Stevie G in the near future. He is 18, so the earlier he gets involved the better. Ince is a winger cum forward mind, he is in a similar way to Raheem except maybe he dribbles quite less and is abit Messi like in that he likes to run directly at defenders rather than dilly dally with the ball like Ronaldo. Still i doubt he will be an improvement on Raheem unless he can add scoring to his game...

16 Dec 2012 15:12:18
I go to Derby every week and watch Will Hughes and he definitely stands out in the championship. When we (Derby) recently beat Blackpool, Incentive was pretty must anonymous while Hughes was spectacular!
RedRam